Government of Montserrat has approved the allocation of an additional $137,000.00 to the Small Business Relief Fund (SBRF) to allow twenty-one (21) more local businesses to receive much needed financial assistance under the programme.
In September, 2023 Government approved $100,000.00 for the SBRF and was able to award twenty-two (22) businesses with much needed financial support. However, this was not enough to fund all of the qualifying applications. Therefore, this new allocation will ensure that all of the qualifying businesses receive funding, bringing the total number of successful applications to forty-three (43) during this cycle.
The Ministry of Finance received a total of eighty-seven (87) applications from local businesses. All of the businesses benefiting under the SBRF are eligible to benefit from duty free exemption on the importation of items purchased overseas.
The SBRF was first rolled out in 2022 by the Government of Montserrat (GoM) with funding of $100,000.00 from the European Union (EU) to provide financial relief to small businesses that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, Government of Montserrat has invested $337,000.00 into the private sector through the SBRF.